Reflecting
by Rose Verdict
Summary: As Taranza comes to at the end of Triple Deluxe, he reflects on what his best friend was turned into by that Nova-forsaken mirror. (A one-shot detailing how Taranza went from void fodder to hero, with major flashbacks to The Good Old Days(TM). Cover art from the 25th Anniversary Twitter.)


**_in which rosie doesn't know the meaning of the word chill and cranks out nearly 3.5K words in an afternoon and refuses to go back and proofread_**

〜〜〜〜〜〜

He floated through the void.

To be more accurate, he felt as if he was floating through the void. Whether he actually was or not was debatable.

How had he gotten here?

Okay, think. What's the last thing you remember?

He forced his mind back into working order and played back a memory from long ago.

〜〜〜〜〜〜

 _Taranza peered over the castle wall and at the princess's garden._

 _Lots of the bigger kids said the princess was ugly, so she surrounded herself with pretty flowers to try and become pretty, herself. Taranza, however, took everything the big kids said with a grain of salt after the…ugh, Web Incident. He repressed a shudder and went back to scanning the garden._

 _A girl's voice startled him. "Excuse me, but who are you?"_

 _"GAH!" Taranza yelped, almost slipping from the wall._

 _"Somehow, I doubt your name's actually 'GAH!'" The girl giggled, helping him back up._

 _Taranza felt his mind stutter to a halt as he saw her for the first time._

 _She looked a lot like him, except her hair was a little longer and her clothing a bit finer. There were well-used gloves adorning each hand, and the ones she wasn't using to haul him up held different gardening tools. A small stinger hidden in the shadows of her silken cloak was all that set her apart as…_

 _"A-are you the princess?" Taranza stammered, his voice cracking embarrassingly._

 _"Mm-hm!" She nodded, beaming. "My name is Sectonia, but Mama and Papa just call me Tonia. But what's your name? You still haven't told me!"_

 _"…Taranza…!" The color rising to his cheeks made it near-impossible to say anything sensible, but he somehow managed anyway. "B-but the other kids call me Ranzy."_

 _Sectonia grinned. "Hey, you wanna see something really cool?"_

 _"Uh, sure!" Taranza answered, though he hadn't heard a single word._

 _"Great! Come on!" Sectonia cheered, pulling him along behind her as she wove through the garden until coming to a stop by a small seedling. Two bright leaves could barely be seen budding from its top. She let go of Taranza's hands and floated lower to the ground, giving the sprout a starry-eyed gaze. "This started growing a little while ago, and I'm rooting for it to keep going! Get it?"_

 _Taranza snorted, desperately trying to collect himself. "I get it, hah! What's it called?" He lowered himself down, too, presumably to look at the tiny plant and not at the princess._

 _"I dunno yet." Sectonia murmured, idly rubbing the sprout's stem. "Maybe the Sweetling, or the Hopesbush?"_

 _"What about Dreamstalk?" Taranza piped up. "You think that might work?"_

 _"Dreamstalk…Dreamstalk? Dreamstalk!" The princess ran the word over her tongue a few times before beaming. "I like it! Dreamstalk it is!" She reached over the newly-christened Dreamstalk and bumped Taranza's fist with her own. "I think we're gonna be good friends, Ranzy!"_

 _Taranza felt the color flood back into his head. "Heheh, yeah!"_

〜〜〜〜〜〜

A pang of sorrow shot through him, and he pulled away from the memory. It had been ages ago, and he wanted to know where he was now!

Another memory began.

〜〜〜〜〜〜

 _"Ranza!!!" The princess's voice echoed in the hall. "How much longer?!"_

 _"Not long now, Tonia!" He called back, shifting the nearest platter ever-so-slightly to the right. He gave one last reassuring thumbs-up to his co-conspirators before floating to the entryway and flicking off the light._

 _"Alright, Tonia!" Taranza grinned, offering his hand to the blindfolded princess. "You ready to see what's behind those doors?"_

 _"That depends, can I take this darn thing off soon?" Sectonia deadpanned, pulling at the blindfold a little._

 _"Yep!" Taranza chuckled, popping the 'P.' "Once I give the signal, you can take off the blindfold!"_

 _"Okay, Ranza. I trust you." Sectonia huffed, grinning in defeat._

 _Taranza led her into the great hall, then flipped on the lights and zipped back with the others. Loudly, he declared, "Here we go! Tonia, have a look!"_

 _As soon as the princess took her blindfold off, her mother, the visiting nobles, and all the castle servants sprung out from behind the decorations and the feast, and with Taranza, they shouted, "Surprise!"_

 _Sectonia gasped before smiling wide. "Is this…?!"_

 _"A birthday party? Heck yeah it is!" Taranza laughed. "You've been holing yourself up in your room for a while, and the Queen wanted to see you for more than mealtimes, and besides! It's your birthday! Live a little!"_

 _Sectonia groaned good-naturedly (and a bit overdramatically). "Motherrr!!!"_

 _"Your friend could have phrased it better, but he's not wrong." Queen Apodia explained. "You've taken your father's death extremely hard lately, and while I, too, wish he was still here, it helps no one to be enthralled in grief for so long." A second passed, then Her Majesty clapped her hands and said in a forcibly-lighter tone. "But today, we celebrate another year of having you with us! Happy birthday, dear daughter of mine. Today, you officially become an adult, and you are sufficiently-prepared to take the throne upon my retirement."_

 _Sectonia smiled. It was true. It had been years since Taranza had first scaled the garden wall, and both of them had since grown into well-rounded adults. Taranza had stayed more or less the same, his horns poking out from his hair being the only major difference she could see._

 _Taranza blushed as Sectonia glanced at him. What had once been a mere crush had bloomed into true adoration over the years. Sectonia's lower-front pair of eyes had grown larger since they'd first met, and the royal bloodline's stinger had elongated until it became a defining feature all on its own. Two sets of golden wings had sprouted from her back, far earlier than any past princess's, but in Taranza's eyes, they just made her lovelier_.

 _"Thank you, Mother, Ranza, and everyone." Sectonia looked down, searching for the right words to continue with, but coming up short. Her eyes grew worryingly watery._

 _Taranza bit the inside of his cheek for a second, then brightened. "You don't have to make a big royal speech right now, if you're not up for it. You wanna go straight to presents?"_

 _Sectonia nodded, wringing her hands together. "Yeah…yeah, that sounds g-good…"_

 _Taranza floated over and took one of her hands in his own, squeezing it gently and letting her lean on him. With a faux gusto, he turned to face the rest of the partygoers. "Let's go get the gifts!"_

 _Each noble came forth with a treasure fit for a king, and Sectonia made an effort to smile and acknowledge their presences and presents. She truly did appreciate them, Taranza could see it clear as day, but she was still in a bad place mentally. When it came to the last two gifts, he gave her hand another squeeze before letting go. "I have to go get my present, but it won't take long, okay?"_

 _"Mm-hm…" Sectonia rubbed furiously at her eyes during the brief reprieve._

 _Taranza smiled reassuringly before floating to the "gift pile," passing by Her Majesty as She brought Her own present up-twin rapiers, for Sectonia's recent interest in swordplay. He beamed at the sheet-covered gift he'd found and grabbed its edges, steadily heaving it to rest in front of Sectonia, who set her mother's gift gently aside. "What is that, Ranza?"_

 _"So I was off exploring a while back, like I always do when your tutor comes over, and I found this!" Taranza explained, fondly patting the object. "It was in a crumbling old building when I found it, so I brought it back with me so it could have a better home." He smiled, a blush rising to his face. "Happy birthday, Tonia. I present…"_

 _He whipped the sheet off his gift with a flourish, and the attendees all ooh-ed and aah-ed at what he'd brought._

 _"…a beautiful mirror for a beautiful princess." Taranza finished, folding the sheet up and stowing it away with one pair of hands, the others nervously folded in front of him. "Do you…do you like it?"_

 _Sectonia floated forward, entranced, one hand outstretched to her reflection in the golden mirror as the other rubbed over the wing details on either side. Light reflected off the mirror and onto her eyes as she looked to her friend. **"I simply adore it, Taranza. Thank you."**_

 _He was on cloud nine for weeks._

〜〜〜〜〜〜

He felt his insides clench up. While it still didn't answer his question of where he was and how he'd gotten there, this memory offered an explanation for everything between then and now.

Forcing it away, he looked to a more recent memory. He had a sinking feeling the answers he sought were closer than he thought, but he immersed himself anyway.

〜〜〜〜〜〜

 ** _"Enter."_**

 _Taranza floated into the throne room. "You wished to see me, Tonia?"_

 _ **"Yes."** The young queen turned from her reflection to face him. **"I have not had an opportunity to check on my Dreamstalk in quite a long time, due to my mother's disappearance. Would you be so kind as to tend to it for me?"**_

 _"Of course, Tonia." Taranza answered, bowing his head to keep from staring._

 _Rare were the occasions he could see his old friend nowadays, but each visit saw her more different than the last. Her wings, sprouted extremely early, were now at their full size from an unnaturally powerful growth spurt she'd undergone in the past month. Her royal stinger had kept growing, and now it appeared as almost completely separated from the rest of her body. Most worrisome, her many pairs of eyes had begun to shrink, in favor of her foremost pair enlarging to take up most of her face._

 _Visually, she looked more and more stunning every time he saw her, but she acted colder and colder, and he was concerned._

 _But when he saw her reflection in the mirror, a reflection of the young woman he'd grown to love crying out in a horrible combination of terror and sorrow, he realized she was no longer herself._

 _He looked back up once he was sure he could keep his cool. "Would you like me to do anything else while I'm taking care of the garden?"_

 _Queen Sectonia thought for a moment, then spoke. **"Yes, actually. Rumors of civil unrest have spread, and I would like you to put the people's minds…at ease."**_

 _Were he not worried for his friend's state of mind, he would have said "No problem, Tonia!" As it was, he merely nodded._

 _ **"Dismissed."** With that, the queen turned back to her "amazing mirror" and gazed at herself once more._

 _Taranza turned and left, accelerating as soon as he was out of sight and speeding to the Dreamstalk._

 _Back when he'd first presented the mirror, he hadn't been entirely truthful. He hadn't been exploring all on his own when he found it, but rather, he'd been racking his brain for the perfect gift while taking care of the Dreamstalk, and upon forming the thought, 'I wish I knew what to get her,' a jolt of magic had shot through the hand touching the Stalk. A mental map had formed in his mind, showing him exactly where to find the mirror._

 _The Dreamstalk granted wishes, and it seemed he was the only one who knew._

 _He grabbed at the old gardening tools and advanced on the magical plant. He couldn't take an obvious stance against Not-Tonia yet, he was too close for that. The Floralians, on the other hand…_

 _He tended to the Dreamstalk, caring for it as he would a bedridden Sectonia, until the day came when it bore a single seed. Excitement rose up in his chest as he carefully pocketed the seed. If he was going to make his move, it had to be then._

 _Forcing back tears, he took the pruning shears and tore down the Dreamstalk, so Not-Tonia could never use its power for evil._

 _Taranza sped out of the castle, clutching the seed in clammy hands until he came upon a city rumored to be home to a Floralian rebellion._

 _The conquered townsfolk eyed him warily as one of the white-blooming Floralians approached. "What business does the Her Majesty's closest confidant have with us?_

 _"Look, I can't stay long," Taranza began, digging the seed out of his pocket, "but the Queen is NOT the same Tonia I grew up with. I hear there's a rebellion based here." He shoved the seed into the Floralian's hands and went on, "I just want Tonia back, but I'm losing hope every day. This seed came from her…_ our _Dreamstalk. It can grant wishes. Please…" He pulled his arms to himself, biting his lip. "…please use it wisely. Once she figures out I destroyed the mother plant, I'm not sure what she'll do. I-I just…"_

 _The Floralian cut him off with a warm pat. "Don't worry. The People of the Sky may not be-"_

 _A shadow loomed over them, and one of Her Majesty's guards cleared its throat. **"Taranza, you are under arrest for intentionally disobeying Her Imperial Highness's direct orders, destruction and theft of royal property, and aiding and abetting traitors to the crown. Due to Her Imperial Highness's fond memories of you, your punishment is not death, but you are to return to the castle with the other traitors. Do you dissent?"**_

 _Taranza locked eyes with the terrified Person of the Sky, and he scowled. "Yeah, actually, I do dissent. I dissent a lot!"_

 _He flicked his gaze up, silently screaming for the Floralians to flee, then he whirled around, hands crackling with light purple energy. "The Queen isn't the Tonia I grew up with, and I refuse to acknowledge Not-Tonia's illegitimate claim to the throne!"_

 _He had a fighting spirit, but he was by no means a hardened warrior._

 _When he was thrown before Not-Tonia, he looked up at terrifyingly stony eyes and held back a gasp._

 _The Queen glared down at him, staves crossed daintily in front of her. **"Taranza, what is the meaning of this?"**_

 _For a moment, he faltered, but then he saw the frightened faces of the Floralians in his mind's eye, and he pushed himself upright with fire in his eyes. "You're not Tonia! I'm sick of pretending! That mirror I got her for her birthday all those years ago, it did something, and whatever you are now, you are not! My! Tonia!"_

 _The Queen smirked. **"I suppose you're smarter than you ever got credit for, aren't you, Taranza?"**_

 _"Don't patronize me." He ground out. "Who are you, and what have you done with Sectonia?"_

 _ **"Oh, but I am Sectonia."** She chuckled darkly, floating forward and resting the ends of her staves on Taranza's forehead._

 ** _"Just not yours."_**

 _The world became a purple-tinted blur after that. There was a gargantuan Dreamstalk, a red-robed king, and a pink puffball who didn't know when to quit._

 _Then something smacked him with the force of a thousand puffballs, and…and then…_

〜〜〜〜〜〜

His eyes shot open as his memories reasserted themselves. He'd been under Her Royal Replacement's control, but when She'd whacked him into the clouds, it must have snapped him out of Her spell!

He pushed himself up with a groan, frantically searching for anything familiar, but only finding trees and creatures from the lower world.

Had he seriously fallen all the way down to the planet below?!

A low voice drew his attention. "You were the one who took King Dedede, correct?"

Taranza spun to face the speaker, a blue puffball with a face-concealing mask, batlike wings flared out, and a golden sword crackling with lightning. He shrugged. "I dunno, maybe? Everything's kinda a blur since the beginning of spring." A flash of green in the faraway sky caught his eye. "Oh man, what did I miss???"

The swordsman let the tension drain from his stance, though he didn't sheath his blade. "Quite a lot, apparently. You wouldn't have happened to run into a child named Kirby, would you?"

Taranza blinked. "Who's Kirby?"

The stranger sighed. "Pink body, red feet, blue eyes, insatiable appetite?"

 _'Could-could you be the true hero of the lower world?'_

Taranza gasped. "Oh stars above and below, _that's a KID?!_ Oh no, I gotta get back up there!" He hurriedly smoothed his cloak, sweeping the dirt from his crash-landing from it as best he could. "I think-I was under Her control for a while-I think I summoned Not-Tonia right before I got slammed into the forest down here!"

This time the stranger did sheath his blade, offering a hand to him. "If you seek to return to the realm above, I believe I have a faster way. Come." He spread his wings and took flight, Taranza right behind him.

Taranza gaped as an airship came into view, bearing the visage of the swordsman's mask in plain view. "Woah…"

"I don't believe we exchanged names." The stranger said, looking back at him with appraising eyes. "I am Meta Knight, of Dreamland. You are?"

"Taranza, of Floralia." He answered, following Meta Knight onto the deck of the battleship. "So, Kirby and King Dedede are the ones up against Not-Tonia? Please tell me they have a record of saving the day!"

"I'd say so." Meta Knight chuckled, signalling his crew to start the great ship towards Floralia. "Between the eldritch beings constantly vying for control of Pop Star and the mischief they get up to, it'd be a wonder the planet still exists if they weren't hero material."

"Oh thank the stars…" Taranza sagged in relief. Something colorful in the corner of his eye gave him pause. "…is that a Miracle Fruit?"

He swooped up to it and pulled it free of its vine, then pulled back and showed it to Meta Knight. "I've seen what Kirby can do with one of these, and right now, every advantage is a good advantage."

A surprised scream made everyone on Meta Knight's ship look up, and Taranza dropped the Fruit. "Oh boy, _CATCH THE KING!_ " He grabbed onto the falling Dedede's sleeve just as he flailed past, hauling him back up onto the airship's deck.

King Dedede opened his eyes, looked at his rescuer, and promptly slugged Taranza in the jaw.

" _GH-!_ " Taranza fell to the ground, holding up a hand in the universal 'give me a second.' "That's- _grh_ -understandable…"

Meta Knight looked to the side, then stepped forward. "The Halberd can't go much higher than this. Under normal circumstances, it could, but we're still recovering from the training exercise we held when Kirby had been split into ten. This is where I stay."

"This is still a lot farther and a lot faster than I could ever have dreamed of going on my own." Taranza nodded in appreciation, rubbing his sore chin with one hand and gesturing to the fight above them with the rest. "Thank you, Meta Knight."

"Wait, what?" Dedede cut in. "MK, you're helping this guy?"

"He says he was under the control of another." Meta Knight said simply, a pointed look under his mask.

"Ohhh, puppetception…" Dedede groaned. "Wonderful."

"Look, I have to get back up there and help Kirby take Not-Tonia down!" Taranza declared, reclaiming the Miracle Fruit before it could roll off the side of the ship.

"Well, I'm coming too!" King Dedede exclaimed, readying his great mallet. "Nobody clobbers Kirby on _my_ watch! Not anymore!"

Taranza blinked, then nodded. "Alright. I'll bring you up first to help Kirby, then I'll swing back and grab this." He rapped on the Fruit's transparent skin. "Sound like a plan?"

"As good as any!" Dedede guffawed.

"I will keep this safe until you need it." Meta Knight broke in, taking the Miracle Fruit in his hands.

"Thanks again, Meta Knight." Taranza grinned, then floated over to Dedede. "You ready for this?"

The king smirked. "Born ready!"

"Then we're off!" Taranza declared, grabbing onto him and shooting off for the monstrous flower.

〜〜〜〜〜〜

 _'Ranza?'_

 _He gasped. 'Tonia?'_

 _A gasp. '_ _Oh my heavens, I finally reached you!' Her voice shook with repressed emotion. 'Please, put an end to that Thing parading around in my body!'_

 _'I…I never wanted this…' He sniffled._

 _The barest touch on his chin. 'Oh, Ranza, I know. I don't blame you one bit, remember that. Just…stop It before anyone else can get hurt. If I can find a way back without dragging That along with me, I will, but It has to be destroyed.'_

 _'Is there any way for me to bring you back?' He hiccuped._

 _'If anybody can find one, it's you.' Her voice turned warm, as if she was smiling. 'I believe in you, Ranza. You should too.'_

 _And she was gone._


End file.
